This study assesses the accuracy of the immediate blood separation method, a novel blood sampling strategy that enables blood analysis in any possible location.

We conducted a cross-validation study between data from immediate blood separation and conventional methods. During the annual medical examinations in 2006 of a company located in an Osaka suburb, blood was drawn from workers ( n = 256; males 200, females 56) by puncturing their middle finger as well as venipuncture of the antecubital vein, by medical personnel. The following nine parameters were evaluated by autoanalyzer: aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γGT), triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, urea nitrogen, uric acid, and creatinine.

After comparing data from the two methods using correlation analysis and regression analysis, we found a close R ² value (coefficient of determination) relationship that ranged from 0.996 to 1.000 for each item. The R ² value was 0.998 for Log AST, 0.997 for Log ALT, 0.999 for Log γGT, 1.000 for Log triglyceride, 1.000 for total cholesterol, 0.999 for HDL cholesterol, 0.998 for urea nitrogen, 0.999 for uric acid, and 0.996 for creatinine. Relationship was satisfactory for all nine items tested.

Our results prove the reliability of data from the immediate blood separation method in an occupational health setting. The method enables self-testing by medically unskilled people, which is an important process to prevent lifestyle-related diseases.